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| It's time to get your ninja on! |
1.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Schwartz, Corey Rosen. The Three Ninja Pigs. Ill. by Dan
Santat. New York: Scholastic, 2013. ISBN 978-0-545-60617-2
2.
PLOT SUMMARY
Once upon a time, there
was a very, very bad wolf. In the face of the wolf’s tyranny, three pigs
declared that they would fight for justice and confront the wolf head on.
However, in order to do this noble deed, they would have to learn some sort of
fighting technique in order to take the wolf down. All three pigs decide to
train as ninjas. Each pig learns a different martial arts style, but not all
the pigs are up to the commitment and dedication necessary to become a ninja
master. As each of their training completes, they face the wolf in epic ninja
showdowns.
3.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
The Three Ninja Pigs is a variant of the much-loved Three Little Pigs story kids know so well. It follows the same
plot, but does it in a new, refreshing way that might relate to kids more than
the original tale; about 3.2 million children participate in martial arts every
year (Moore 2011). It goes over different types of martial arts (aikido,
jujitsu, karate) and uses martial arts words such as “sensei” instead of
teacher. It also has a lot of attention to detail—the different martial arts
have the animals using different techniques unique to that style, each pig has
a different colored belt according to their ability, and even the pig’s
uniforms have the Chinese characters for “1”, “2”, and “3” on them.
Unlike most stories of
the three pigs, the story is not about three brothers, but instead about two
brothers and their older sister. For girls reading this book, it shows a strong
female protagonist who not only saves the day, but has amazing ninja skills as
well, two characteristics that are traditionally given to male characters. This
small gender change helps set it apart from other versions of this story.
The writing is very
whimsical: each page is done as a rhyme (ABC/CB) with both external (the B/B)
and internal (the C/C) rhyming. The cadence of the entire story flows with a rhythm
that makes it fun to read out loud, and will help young readers sound out words
based on the rhyme scheme.
The cartoon-styled
illustrations give the story a sense of action, evoking a sense of comic
book-like style. In fact, many of the pages are broken up into panes in a comic
book layout. This style of art helps illustrate the progression of the
storyline, so that even children who cannot read the story can guess what is going
to happen based on pictures alone. Santat has not forgotten the Asian heritage
of martial arts either and many of the scenes, even ones away from the dojo
where the pigs learn their martial arts, contain Japanese elements, such as
cherry blossoms floating in the wind at the final confrontation, or the way the
wind is extra curly, the way it looks in traditional Chinese art.
4.
REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
From SCHOOL LIBRARY
JOURNAL- “Unlike the original tale, the pigs are given responsibility for their
misfortune and a chance for improvement. The story has a clear message that success
requires perseverance. […] Youngsters with an interest in martial arts and
those seeking a strong female characters will relish this picture book.”
From PUBLISHERS’ WEEKLY-
“Schwartz’s irreverent verse never falters—and any book that rhymes ‘dojo’ with
‘mojo’ is one that’s worth a look.”
From NEW YORK TIMES BOOK
REVIEW – “The Three Ninja Pigs
manages to one-up the well-worn story by setting in Japan, sprinkling it with
the language and discipline of martial arts. All in hilarious, impeccable
rhyme.”
From BOOKLIST – “This
standout version has so much motion, action, and laughs, kids will feel like
they’re hearing it for the first time. Schwartz’s clever rhyming text flows
nicely, and illustrator Santat (who holds a black belt in Shotokan) really gets into things.”
5.
CONNECTIONS
Read
other fractured fairy tales from Schwartz and Santat:
·
Ninja Red Riding Hood. ISBN 0399163549
·
Goldi Rocks & the
Three Bears.
ISBN 0399256857
Other books about Ninjas
·
Ninja! by Aree Chung, ISBN
0805099115
·
Wink: The Ninja Who
Wanted to be Noticed by J.C. Phillipps, ISBN 0670010928
·
The Boy Who Cried Ninja by Alex Latimer, ISBN
1561455792
·
Ninjas! A Fun Guide For
Kids Wanting to Become a Ninja by P.D. Adler, ISBN 179483670X
Ninja activities
·
Having a ninja boot camp is a great way to engage children in
some physical activity while still having fun. There are some great websites
with games that are adapted for ninja fun.
References
Moore,
John. 2011. “Martial Arts Statistics and Demographics—How Many People and Who
in the US Practice?” San Francisco Martial Arts. January 26. http://students.expression.edu/jasonmarvinjones/demograhics/
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